The Triadvocate is a publication of Triad Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan lobbying, public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots advocacy, issue management consulting firm located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

PA Primary Elections: TV or Social Media?

By Roy J. Wells,
President, Triad Strategies

This morning I read an article in the English publication New
Media Age arguing that the elections in England
will be more influenced by television than social media. As someone who has
been talking over the last few months about the role of social media and
elections, the article really forced me to think about the upcoming Pennsylvania primary
elections.

As you will see below, the Pennsylvania candidates for Governor and U.S.
Senate have not been setting any records in the number of Facebook fans and
Twitter followers they have been collecting. Though some are doing far better
than others, no one is pulling in the numbers we have seen with Scott Brown in MA, Rick Perry in TX, Gavin Newsom in San Francisco, or if you saw Triad’s Facebook update today,
Governor Tim Pawlenty in MN.

If the candidates’ social media followings stay relatively
low compared to the number of registered or likely voters in PA, then the
article from across the pond will be accurate. If you can not reach likely
voters through social media channels, you will be left with no choice but to
reach out to them through traditional media channels.

The only problem with relying on traditional media to get
the word out in 2010 is that the public is less likely to be tuned in to it. With
more cable channels being added every month, with more DVRs being used to fast
forward through commercials, and with younger voters choosing to find their
entertainment on the Internet, I wonder if traditional media buys will be as
valuable as they were in the 20th century. We would love to hear
what you think on this topic.